Delivering the best customer experience in any industry
Why is it no longer enough to strive for excellence in your field? Because you’re probably already behind. Customer expectations are changing faster and faster, and 2022 will be no exception. So, in a changing environment the key is to test, analyze and learn.
The automotive industry, in particular, has seen one of the biggest shifts in buyer behavior. Ten years ago, the average used car buyer would visit five to seven dealerships before making a choice. Now, it’s not even 2 dealerships that are visited in person before the purchase.
A consumer will begin their search online and expect to be “seduced” from their first search about you. The overall look of your site, the mobile responsiveness, the amount of choice available, the personalization of your offers, etc. It now takes more than a good price to attract a customer to your store.
You’ll need to provide an overall experience from A to Z that lives up to their expectations and that they can personally relate to. So now you have to focus on interacting with them.
Personalization goes to another level
People no longer evaluate their experiences vertically. It used to be that the customer compared a used car dealership to other used car dealerships, or compared an online clothing store to other online clothing stores.
Now, consumers take the best experience they’ve had from one industry and demand an experience at least equal to that in other industries.
Anticipate customer needs
If they can have an ultra-personalized coffee in the morning, why should it be any different when buying their car? That means everything from mobile marketing messages to the in-store experience with the consultant must be personalized to the customer. To do this, you have to learn to anticipate the customer’s needs.
If we stay with the car dealership example, is his priority to look for the best car for his needs? Is it speed or convenience? Is financing the first step in their car buying process?
Search data comes into play
The best way to anticipate customer needs is to analyze their user data on the web. Based on their behavior, the dealer will be able to know whether to use financing messages or promotional ones, for example.
Personalization can be further enhanced with the analysis of this data. If the customer has made an appointment in the store to test drive a Toyota Camry, the dealer will prepare a Toyota Camry. But he could also prepare a Nissan Altima and a Honda Accord, since these would be 2 models that the customer would also have been looking for.
A period of testing is necessary
Providing THE best customer experience requires constant testing, trial and error and adaptation.
For example, car dealerships began to realize that they were not meeting customer expectations in terms of vehicle photos. Google Analytics data showed that less than half of the photos of individual cars were viewed.
Employees were taking a lot of photos, but not necessarily the ones customers cared about the most or at the quality they expected.
To solve this problem, customers had to be interviewed and new elements tested. More photos of the cargo area, fewer photos of the exterior, more HD photos, etc.
Now, these dealerships can make sure they are offering the visual support that customers are looking for.
A better informed and more fluid shopping experience
What we have just described would be the basis to be on the way to offer THE best experience. In order to offer the “plus” that customers are looking for, it is necessary to test once again.
360° photos/videos, among others, are rarely available, yet they offer a great interaction with users who can see themselves directly in the vehicle. It allows them to project themselves behind the wheel of the vehicle.
It is exactly with strategies like these that the probability of a buyer choosing your dealership as a result of their mobile research becomes very high.
Things to remember
The more you anticipate your customers’ needs at every stage, the happier they will be. To achieve this, it is essential to analyze, learn, test, fail and try again. Who cares if you tried and failed? As long as you have learned about your customers, you are always getting closer to meeting their needs.
Ultimately, you can’t do everything and know everything. That’s why there are specialized marketing agencies. Turn to Nerd Marketing for more advice or customized strategies!
